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Two Smudde siblings. One blog. No apologies.

Now We Fight

Many of us are outraged. I certainly am. For me this election transcended the normal political back and forth. It stopped being about political discourse- to me, like many, this became a matter of precedence. How can we possibly elect someone so blatantly racist, sexist, homophobic, and Islamophobic? He has said nothing that makes sense and yet he’s tapping into peoples fears and bigotry instead of worrying about the country.

Well, America voted.

So now we have a racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic bigot as our President-Elect.

Last week we mourned, Emily. But this week, this week we fight.

Before we wage a war, we all need to be warriors. I’ll make a warrior of you yet.

Mantra

Stand

It’s easy to give into fear and anger. It’s even easier to just lie there. We all try and fathom, explain, debate, and rationalize what has taken place. We desperately try and wrap ourselves up in our bubbles; the echo chambers that don’t argue, don’t disagree, don’t make us uncomfortable start to envelop us into believing that things will smooth over. Humans want comfort and it’s easier to believe that some group of people or some governing body will fix this while we stay wrapped in our blankets.

No, it is much more important that, no matter the scenario, we stand back up. Take a stance and hold it. Don’t hold it for ideals, don’t hold it for people. Stand up for you. For your own well being. Everything will be all right as long as we get back up.

No matter what comes, the first step to fighting anything is to not be in a vulnerable position. Stand up. Understand who you are. Understand why you do.

Visualize

The Mountain

Be
as the
mountain.
Nothing may
topple who you are.

Mantra

Breath

What is anger? Define anger without using the word angry or mad. Its hard. But I posit to you readers:

Anger is the feeling of having a boundary crossed by someone or something.

It’s hard to accept. It’s harder to understand. Even more difficult is the imagine that their are people who don’t think and act like us. People are complex creatures with complex feelings. It’s easy for us to forget that we exist inside bubbles.

So now we breath. We do nothing. We take a moment to just be.

It’s hard to accept. It’s harder to understand. Even more difficult is the imagine that their are people who don’t think and act like us. People are complex creatures with complex feelings. It’s easy for us to forget that we exist inside bubbles.

So now we breath. We do not lash out at people. We do not rail against ideas or concepts. We take a moment to let our anger and our fear go. Try and understand that people who we deem our opponents feel the same anger and fear for the exact reasons we feel joy and comfort.

Center yourself. Feel your emotions but do not be beholden to them. Understand your emotions but do not succumb to haste or hate.

Visualize

The Moment

A moment.
A place without.
A time that is still.
A time that is now.
A place within.
A moment.

Mantra

Open

Finally we act. But battles will not be won and lost based on strength. It will be based on understanding. Understanding ourselves and understanding others. Now you must open yourself to others. Other people, other ideas. Open your eyes to yourself. Try and understand the feelings you’ve come to terms with. Why are you afraid? Why are you mad?

Now instead of trying to use words; use evidence. Read articles, read studies. Read information that you don’t agree with. Read opinions you don’t agree with. Try and discover why your opinions differ. Arm yourself with the information you need to create informed opinions. With informed opinions you can have informed discussions. With informed discussions you can shape ideas.

People are not the enemy. Ignorance is the enemy. You must arm yourself against it so that other people cannot use your emotions against you.

Be wary not to become emotional. Ideas are complex. People are complex. Imagine how your ideas and feelings have been crafted since you were a child. Imagine how other peoples ideas and feelings have been crafted since they were a child. No one is singular in thought. Time and experience teaches everyone different lessons.

Visualize

The Book

Within yourself you contain many pages.
Fill those pages with who you are.
Fill those pages with who others are.
Become a book so that you may learn.
Within your pages contain knowledge.

Mantra

Move

You are immune to the opinions of your opponents. You are immune to how the media attempts to warp you. You see through lies. You research your ideas. You cannot be shaped by the hands of another.

This makes you the fiercest warrior to who would stand against you.

They cannot tap into your fear or ignorance. They cannot push past you with distracting rhetoric. You understand them and why they feel the way they do. You can now use this knowledge to strike at their weak points. Where their ideas are weak, where their fears are greatest.

But do not rush. Become a slow moving force. Be a calm leader. As you walk you will pull others into your wake. You can help them. You can teach them. They can help you. They can teach you. You walk together as a massive force to change the world. It will not be fast. It will not be today. The important part is to walk together, to protect one another, to reach out to one another. To keep moving. Keep moving forward together. Every step, no matter how little, matters. But you must all walk together because we do not create a movement alone.

Someday you must hope that we all walk together to combat hatred and fear. Little by little.

Visualize

The Path

Walk your
line strong
and tall.
As
more of
you walk
the line
it becomes
a path,
then a
street, then
a highway.

Stand

Be as the mountain.

Breath

Take a quiet moment.

Open

Be open to new ideas.

Move

Walk together.

Stand

Do not let anger and fear hold you in place. Take the time you need to get past it- but at the end of the day you have to stand back up. Stand for something. Stand for yourself first.

Breath

What makes you angry about the election? What are you afraid is going to happen? Take the time you need to internalize it. Once you’ve regained focus its time to look up that hill.

Open

Find what cause you want to champion. Do not worry about all of them at once. Pick one for now, and learn what you can about your side. Then learn what you can about the other side. Be vigilant and diligent. This isn’t about battling people. This is about attaining information and spreading it. Share an interesting article. Have informed opinions. Have informed discussions.

Try and keep a finger on the pulse of the problems. I recommend having at least 3 sources for any article you read. It doesn’t take much time. I use BBC, ABC News, and NBC News. This isn’t so you can call them up at a moments notice, but reading 3 different articles on an event helps reduce bias and learn more thoroughly on the topic. Headlines are meant to grab your attention- read the article, not just the thumbnail. Do this enough and you will become a champion. Then you pick another cause.

Be sure to watch your opponents actions as well. What they do matters more then what they said. The can mislead and distract you with powerful rhetoric. Pay attention to what they do.

Move

Armed with knowledge, move forward and help others move forward as well. What cause do you want to champion? Reach out to organizations and learn more to help. Stay knowledgeable on whats going on in local and national politics. The more knowledgeable you are the more confidently you can vote. Be sure to be involved locally because this is the line in the sand.

We have hate in the White House, we don’t need it in each city.

It sounds like a lot to do at once but it really isn’t. This isn’t a story where you need to read any prequels. Start with stuff happening today. Legislation in your cities should take precedence. Individuals are the foundation of what this country is built on. Change the smallest point and we’ll eventually move forward into larger districts, into larger cities, into the Congress, into the White House. But it starts with each of us individually first. Rhetoric has failed us, your actions matter more than your words.

Stand

Stand tall for yourself first. If you can’t stand for your self you stand for nothing.

Breath

Take a moment. Use your emotions constructively. Lashing out at people does not help an idea grow.

Open

Be receptive to all forms of information. Scrutinize. Compare. Contrast. Be an expert.

Move

From the smallest town to the White House. Be involved with one another. We shall become a tidal wave.

If this helped you stay focused please send it to someone. Together we are strong.

-DTM

P.S. A good couple of reads are the 33 Strategies of War and the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.